CA Vaction...Need the low down on San Fran

[DudeistMonk]

I'm leaving for a family vacation next week to CA. 3 days in Yosemite, 1 day in Wine Country and 2 more in San Fran...

The San Fran part is where I need the help of TB.

I love beer, I love music, I have a fascination with the Height and the 60's...What do I need to see/do? Whats the best way to get around without a car? Any other pointers would be great.

Thanks,
Chris

Ps. I really wanna get some of the local culture, I want to know what its like over there, my parents will be the ones doing the touristy stuff and they have that worked out.

[jady]

Check out Amoeba Records at the very end of Haight by Golden Gate Park. You will not be sorry.

[MatticusMania]

Buy some fungus and walk the 10 mile round trip from the entrance to the Golden Gate & back. If you happen to be up there on the 28th/29th you can catch my girlfriends band What?! playing somewhere or other and you can listen to them on stanford radio. Alas, due to poor finances, I won't be going along.

[Unrepresented]

SF is actually an awesome without a car. You've got Muni (bus/cable car) and BART (light rail).

Plus it's actually compact enough that you can walk (if you're a healthy adventurous adult) to various closely located points of interest.

The touristy stuff will be Fisherman's Wharf and Golden Gate Park, but they're well worth seeing, and Golden Gate Park is right next to Haight Ashbury which is a really cool area for (window) shoppping or otherwise.

Market street has some neat areas if you're into the the more urban aspects of the city.

North Beach is cool in general, beyond the touristy stuff of Pier 39.

I really just suggest taking it on foot and exploring. That's what I try and do every time I get back up there.

[Kyon`]

Golden Park is a very nice walk, the top of the little island is good to have a picnic. Natural museum in the park is revamped and very fun though more for the kids. I have some suggestions but I believe many of them are gone I'll get back to you on that..

[SchecterC4]

Originally Posted by Unrepresented

SF is actually an awesome without a car. You've got Muni (bus/cable car) and BART (light rail).
...
I really just suggest taking it on foot and exploring. That's what I try and do every time I get back up there.

BART workers are now on strike until a new deal can be made with the union, so until then a lot of people are totally screwed.

Good advice though. Foot/bike is the way to go in The City. I personally hate driving there and it's nigh on impossible to find parking. My favorite areas are the Palace of Fine arts near the Golden Gate, North Beach and the Piers on the Embarcadero. There's a ton of little hole in the wall bars and restaurants all over the city that are just phenomenal. Check out Yelp.com for reviews and to plan ahead.

If you're up to it, check out Alcatraz for a tour of the prison and or a bike ride on Angel Island. Beautiful area and always a good time.

[rosanne]

Rent a bicycle and ride across the Golden Gate Bridge into Sausalito and back. Or maybe there's a ferry you could take back -don't know. 2 days is NOT enough time.

[guitar ed]

The California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park has recently opened their new aquarium. In addition, it has a lot "green" ideas for building. I haven't been, but people who have, love it.

If you are into beer, check out Anchor Brewing Company. They may still do tours. They make a unique "steam" beer. Quite tasty, IMHO.

The Exploratorium is a good place for kids, and us young-at-heart old folks.

The Stinking Rose is a good place for dinner, if you like a bit of dinner with your garlic.

Have fun.

edg

[Unrepresented]

Originally Posted by SchecterC4

BART workers are now on strike until a new deal can be made with the union, so until then a lot of people are totally screwed.

Ouch. The girlfriend is headed back up there next week for school, hopefully it'll be resolved by then because she's heavily dependent on public transit.

[JansenW]

1. Go on the Alcatraz tour (op for the award wining audio guide). You must reserve early as the tickets are always sold out.

2. California Academy of Sciences & Japanese Tea Garden (near each other)

3. De Young Museum (The current exhibit is King Tut) which is accross form the Academy of Sciences. You must reserve early

4. Walk the Golden Gate Bridge

5. Ride the cable cars (expensive) from down town to Fisherman's Warf, Pier 39 and North Beach.

6. Eat in North Beach

7. Monterey Aquarium (Needs all day).

Watch out for cars (especially red light runners) whenever you walk!

[Jared Lash]

For music, check if there's a show you want to see at the Fillmore - great (and historic) place to see a concert. Or if you dig Jazz, check out Yoshi's. I usually go to the one in Oakland but there's a new one in SF.

+1 on anchor for beer. Love that place. The Steam and Porter are fantastic. If you're around on a friday Speakeasy Brewing is open to the public from 4-8. Great beers, great people.

As for wine country, if you're in Sonoma county, my brother is the chef at Santi in Geyserville.

[SchecterC4]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

For music, check if there's a show you want to see at the Fillmore - great (and historic) place to see a concert. Or if you dig Jazz, check out Yoshi's. I usually go to the one in Oakland but there's a new one in SF..

The Fillmore is AWESOME. I saw Victor Wooten there two years ago and have been to a few other concerts there since and it's always a great show. Great sound system. I haven't been to Yoshi's, but that place always has something cool going on. Definitely worth checking out one of em.

[Brad Barker]

the BART strike never began, and it apparently has been averted: http://www.contracostatimes.com/news...nclick_check=1

[TOOL460002]

pyramid brewery
de young museum tut exhibit
cobbs comedy

bet i was late on this...

i was late on de young, but i saw it also in cairo so im super cool

hunan homes is the best chinese food ever.
not sure where pyramid brewery is but its great.
cobba comedy is great. if posehn is still there, he is so good. seen him 4-5 times and this last time he owned. his host is great and his opener eats ****.
punvhline is... eh... **** them.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by TOOL460002

not sure where pyramid brewery is but its great.

Pyramid is in Berkeley, on Gilman St.

[MJ5150]

Check for a Giants game.

If you make it to Alcatraz, make sure you ask for Vicki as your tour guide.

-Mike

[Number27]

i say skip san fran and go to oakland instead. that way you can:

1. watch the raiders lose
2. get mugged
3. witness a drive-by
4. get a "whistle tip" for your "hooptie"
5. watch the A's lose
6. feature in some crappy "hip hop" music video where someone "ghost rides" the "whip"
7. visit berkeley
8. get shot

[MadMan118]

Originally Posted by Number27

i say skip san fran and go to oakland instead. that way you can:

1. watch the raiders lose
2. get mugged
3. witness a drive-by
4. get a "whistle tip" for your "hooptie"
5. watch the A's lose
6. feature in some crappy "hip hop" music video where someone "ghost rides" the "whip"
7. visit berkeley
8. get shot

You can do all that except 2 and 5 in S.F. too, you just need to look hard enough.
Places to avoid:
Hunters Point/Bayview(Just don't)
Tenderloin(At night except Turk Street just north of Market, and 6/7th and Market streets )
Market & 6th/7th towards City hall.(Bums)
Haight Ashbury (Okay during the light hours, but there's a lot of bums)
16th & Mission(hit the escalators and don't' loiter, walk about a block off.)
The Oakland BART station at night
So in a nut shell use common sense avoid 6/7th and Market and BART stations at night.
And on a less pessimistic note check out The Warfield.

[Hawaii Islander]

I was there for about a week last summer with my brother and his family. We barely scratched the surface of things to do. I didn't see it mentioned previously, so I'll mention it now. You could take the double decker bus tour just to get an overview of the city. You can get off at any number of stops on the route and walk around. Walking is a good way to see many of the sites, but those hills are tough on the legs. Bring a sweater or a jacket because it gets pretty windy and cold at times (we were there in July and still needed a jacket).

Have fun!

[m0nst3r]

Amoeba Records on Haight St. is pretty sweet. Haight St. itself is pretty cool, it's got a lot of character. Just be prepared for gutter punks with trust funds to ask you for money every 10 feet you go.

Golden Gate Park is sweet too. It's pretty big, so it's good for a long walk. Definitely check out the Japanese Tea Garden.

If you're into animals, the San Francisco Zoo is cool. It's also right next to the beach, so you can kill too birds with one stone.

There are TONS of venues for live music: The Filmore, The Warfield, Yoshi's, Slims, The Pound, The Great American Music Hall, The Regency Ballroom, Boom Boom Boom, Bottom Of The Hill, and tons tons tons more. Here's a link: http://sanfrancisco.about.com/od/clu...flivemusic.htm

Watching a Giants game is always fun, just don't expect them to win, but at least you can spend $8 on some watered down beer and enjoy the game.

Anchor Brewing Company. One word, yea you guessed it "sweet." I woud make this one of my top priorities, seeing as you like beer and all.

Some of the tourist stuff is cool too, like Pier 39. The Seals/Sea Lions are fun to watch. The Coit tower is also sweet. It's got a great 360° view of SF. I personally think it's hilarious watching people struggling to drive down , "America's crookedest St.," Lombard St. Alcatraz is very cool. Don't forget the "Full House" victorian houses across the street from Alamo Square. You can have a picninc just like in the opening credits of the show! Of course the Golden Gate Bridge is cool, and if you feel like waisting $600 on a pair of jeans, Union Square is definitely for you.

That's all I can think of for now. Oh yea, I would suggest walking as much as possible. Taking the bus sucks because they are crowded and there are a lot of raunchy people on there. Driving in SF sucks. There are tons of hills, almost everyone is a maniac, and parking is non-existant or very expensive. Riding a bike isn't too bad, but I personally would be too scared because of the all lunatic cab drivers.

I hope you enjoy your trip.